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December 4, 2011

Judge Denies Apple Request To Halt Samsung Sales

by editor

A U.S. judge has denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung, allowing sales of the latter's Galaxy smartphones and tablets to continue pending a patent infringement trial, various media outlets reported Saturday.

According to Dan Levine of Reuters, District Court Judge Lucy Koh of San Jose, California issued the ruling late Friday night, stating that it was "not clear" that an injunction preventing Samsung to sell the products in question -- the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- "would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed."

PCMag's Chloe Albanesius added that Kim declared that a preliminary injunction was "extraordinary remedy," and that "given the evidence Samsung presented, it seems likely that a major beneficiary of an injunction would be other smartphone manufacturers."

The two electronics companies are locked in a series of legal battles, with ZDNet reporter Zach Whittaker pointing out that they are pursuing 20 cases against each other in 10 different countries. The case in question involves U.S Patent No. D618,677, owned by the Cupertino, California-based iPad and iPhone manufacturer.

"Apple could still prevail in the long-running patent spat if the matter comes to trial," Whittaker wrote on Saturday. "Koh added, in conjunction with previously held sentiments, that Apple would likely prove that Samsung infringed at least one of its tablet patents."

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846, Levine said. According to Albanesius, it will go to trial on July 30, 2012, and both companies will be able to present their sides of the argument at that time.